Inside the Phillies with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki

Results tagged ‘ Jamie Moyer ’

“No, we haven’t made any final decisions on our pitching staff or rotation.

“Yes, we’re still looking in other ways to improve our club.”

The Phillies optioned Mike Zagurski on Monday. It left the Phillies with 12 healthy pitchers in camp, a strong indication those are the 12 pitchers they will carry into the season until Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero are back. Amaro won’t say anything is official because the chance always exists they could make a deal before April 5, unlikely as it might be.

One roadblock to any deal is the Phillies appear to have exceeded their payroll budget, which is approaching $140 million. They’re simply not in position to add payroll. The second roadblock is that everybody in baseball is looking for pitching right now, so it’s not like teams are eager to trade a quality bullpen arm.

If the Phillies stand pat, there is just one roster decision: Jamie Moyer or Kyle Kendrick for the fifth job in the rotation?

“They’ve both doing very well,” Amaro said. “Obviously, competition is a good thing. The fact that they’re pitching well, I think it can only bode well for the club.”

Kendrick has a 1.29 ERA in four Grapefruit League appearances. Moyer has a 3.86 ERA in one Grapefruit League start and three B game starts. If those numbers hold – they could change dramatically before the Phillies break camp – it would appear on paper that Kendrick had outperformed Moyer, right?

“I don’t evaluate the numbers, especially in Spring Training,” Amaro said. “That’s not how we evaluate. We have to evaluate what’s going to be best overall for our club, and how they’re getting people out and those sorts of things. It’s still kind of a complicated decision to make. Hopefully we’ll make the right one.

“Look at what we did last year. Chan Ho Park probably pitched better than J.A. Happ. Ultimately, was that the right decision to start those guys in those roles? Probably not. That’s why they were flipped. We ended up being a better club as a result of it.”

Like the rest of us, Jamie Moyer does not know how the Phillies will pick their fifth starter.

But he made a strong case for himself today at Bright House Field. He allowed five hits and one run and struck out six in five innings in a 5-4 loss to the Orioles. It was Moyer’s first Grapefruit League appearance after making three starts in B games. In a combined 14 innings, he has allowed six earned runs for a 3.86 ERA. Kyle Kendrick, his sole competitor for the job, has allowed two runs in 14 innings in four Grapefruit League appearances for a 1.29 ERA.

The Phillies said a few weeks ago that Moyer had the edge over Kendrick because of his experience.

Still true?

“I think they’ve both got two more starts,” Charlie Manuel said. “I think it’ll play out. I think we’ll do what’s best for our club and everything. I like how Kendrick has improved, but at the same time Jamie’s healthy and in the next couple starts we’ll see where he’s at.”

“Basically it’s what’s best for us and how we line up as a team,” Rich Dubee said.

If Moyer pitches well in his next two starts and Kendrick struggles, Moyer gets the job. If Kendrick finishes the spring with a 1.29 ERA and Moyer finishes the spring with a 3.86 ERA, I’ve got to think Moyer still gets the job. If Moyer struggles and Kendrick pitches well Kendrick has the edge.

And if Moyer struggles in the rotation once the season starts, Kendrick could be this year’s J.A. Happ and take his place. But it makes some baseball sense to start Moyer in the rotation: 1) Moyer is better suited for the rotation than the bullpen; 2) This gives him a chance to prove himself; 3) If he struggles and returns to the bullpen the Phillies can say they gave him a fair shot.

The edge: Moyer

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Dubee said Cole Hamels, who was scheduled to pitch in a Minor League game, would pitch tomorrow against the Yankees. Joe Blanton, who originally had been scheduled to pitch tomorrow, will pitch Tuesday. … Dubee also said Brad Lidge will pitch in a Minor League game tomorrow and J.C. Romero will pitch in a simulated game Tuesday.

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The Zo Zone is on Facebook and Twitter. His Phillies book “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly” is available online, and at Delaware Valley bookstores!

– Placido Polanco will not be in the lineup tonight, but Charlie Manuel said he is expected to play in a Minor League game tomorrow while the team is in Lakeland against the Tigers. Roy Halladay is pitching in Lakeland.

– Jamie Moyer will make his first Grapefruit League start Sunday against the Orioles. Kyle Kendrick pitches tonight against the Orioles.

Polanco limped off the mound before he dropped to the turf. Two team athletic trainers helped Polanco off the field and into the visitor’s clubhouse down the left-field line at McKechnie Field.

“When it first happens you really get scared,” he said. “You don’t know what’s happening. It doesn’t feel right. But now that the doctor took a look at it, it’s nothing big at all. … It’s getting better now already after the icing and all that.”

A Pirates doctor checked Polanco’s knee ligaments.

“It’s just the back of the knee,” Polanco said. “It’s probably hyperextended a little bit. Irritated.”

He added that he does not think a MRI is necessary.

Polanco tried to catch Delwyn Young‘s pop up in the third, but he lost the ball in the sun and stumbled on the back of the mound.

“Tomorrow is a big day to see how it feels, how sore it is,” Polanco said. “Probably two or three days because we’ve got a day off coming (Thursday).”

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Jamie Moyer allowed eight hits and five runs in three innings in a B game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin.

The Blue Jays had seven regulars in the lineup.

It still is possible Moyer could open the season in the rotation, and Kyle Kendrick could open in the bullpen. If Moyer pitches well, great. If not, Kendrick could replace Moyer like J.A. Happ replaced Chan Ho Park in the rotation last season. Moyer will make $8 million this season. It is possible the Phillies could release Moyer – although he pitched well in the bullpen late last year – but it would leave them with little starting pitching depth in the organization.

Asked about the possibility of starting or relieving, Moyer said, “That’s their choice.”

So he’s just along for the ride, doing what he can?

“Exactly,” he said. “Contribute. It’s all about contributing.”

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The Zo Zone is on Facebook and Twitter. His Phillies book “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly” is available online, and at Delaware Valley bookstores!

The Moyer Foundation will hold a donations drive to collect and deliver supplies for the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti. Fans are encouraged to bring donations to Bright House Field in Clearwater from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on March 16 and 17, and 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. on March 19.

The Moyer Foundation created the “Helping Hearts Campaign” in January to support emergency relief efforts specifically targeted to helping child victims in Haiti. The organization pledged to match up to $50,000 in donations, which it accomplished this month.

The drop-off containers will be located near the fountain at the main entrance to Bright House Field. The containers then will be shipped directly to The Moyer Foundation’s partners on the ground in Haiti. Certain items that are needed for the collection are clothing, school supplies, personal hygiene items, tents, furniture for an office or home, toys, dolls, etc.

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I’ll mention these again as they get closer, but I have a few signings scheduled for my Phillies book The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly:

“We had no idea where we were going to go, or where it was going to take us,” Moyer said. “Our initial goal and our continued goal is to make a difference in communities and with kids in less fortunate situations.”

The foundation will have 36 camps in 26 cities this summer, including one in Toronto.

The Phillies are looking for more starting pitching depth, but if they find somebody it would be on a Minor League deal. “It’s a possibility,” Amaro said. “At some point you’ve got to see what you’ve got. We’re probably as close to that stage as we’ve been all offseason. While I guess we’re not necessarily satisfied with where we are — we’re never satisfied — we’re comfortable with going into the spring with who we’ve got. We’ll kind of let things play out.”

J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge have started throwing. Jamie Moyer could begin throwing soon, too. Amaro had said for some time that Lidge is ahead of Romero, but Romero started to throw on the 17th. Lidge started to throw earlier this week, so it sounds like they might be even. “So far so good,” Amaro said about Lidge and Romero. “No news is good news on those guys.”

Moyer has told the Phillies he thinks he will be ready by Opening Day. The medical staff has a more conservative timetable.

Roy Halladay has been arriving every morning around 7 a.m. at Bright House Field in Clearwater to begin his workouts. Amaro said the training staff is raving about his workout routine. I think the word “animal” and “monster” is being used a lot. (These are not words people use to describe my workout routine.)

Amaro still will not confirm the Phillies are close to signing Jose Contreras, which could be announced as early as today. Of course, that really does not matter because Charlie Manuel confirmed it during Tuesday’s news conference. It was actually a pretty funny moment. (Well, funny to the scribes.) The Phillies cannot comment or confirm Contreras because he has not passed his physical. Of course, Manuel did not know this so he talked about him like he had signed. No worries, the world is still spinning.

It would make no sense for Ruben Amaro Jr. to talk publicly about his interest in Roy Halladay.

In fact, it would make more sense to say he has little chance in acquring him.

That is what he said this morning before he left the Winter Meetings. The chances for a big-time move, Ruben?

“I don’t think there’s any likeliness,” he said.

So nothing has changed in the likeliness scale?

“There’s nothing likely. How about that?” he said.

I wrote last night that there is talk at the Winter Meetings that the Phillies are one of the favorites for Halladay, if not the favorite. FOXSports.com reported this morning that the Phillies and Angels are front-runners with the Phillies offering J.A. Happ and Domonic Brown or Michael Taylor. The Phillies also would have to shed some payroll to make room for Halladay’s $15.75 million salary. Joe Blanton could be a casualty there. He made $5.75 million last season, and will receive a raise. But FOXSports.com said the Phillies would have to shed more payroll than that.

That could explain why the Phillies haven’t made much progress on Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre. It sounds like that’s why the Phillies are playing hardball in negotiations. They might need to get them on the cheap to afford Halladay. But why would Park and Eyre agree to that?

If the Phillies would have to give up Happ and Blanton to get Halladay, who would they have to fill in the rotation? Would they go into the season with Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick? Or could they pick up another starter for Blanton? A free agent like John Smoltz maybe?

The Phillies locked up catcher Brian Schneider today, and are expected to lock up infielder Juan Castro on Thursday.

Next up for the Phillies?

Pitching and third base. Reporters had a chance to talk with Ruben Amaro Jr. about those things and more for a few minutes this afternoon at the Bank. Here is a taste of what he said:

On finding starting pitching help: “I would like to try to add some depth there, if we could. Kendrick could be one of those options. Obviously we line up with Lee, Hamels, Blanton, Happ and Moyer and possibly Kendrick. We’d like to add some more depth if we could, but pitchers aren’t falling out of trees and I don’t have an unlimited budget so I have to try to work on the other priorities and that’s third base and the bullpen and maybe add some depth (to the rotation) with perhaps a sixth-year free agent … or take a flier or somebody who might give us some upside who may not be on anybody’s radar screen. Try to shoot for a low-risk, high-reward type of a guy. There’s a lot of pitching out there. The quality of it, you just never know.”

On interest in John Smoltz, first reported by ESPN.com: “I guess he’d fit the bill (of low risk, high reward). We’ve talked to several agents about a bunch of different guys. But we don’t talk about specific guys unless we’re signing them. But he would kind of fit the ball, certainly. I’m not sure if that’s a role he wants to play, but we’ve had some discussions with some of those guys who could give us some more pitching depth.”

On where they stand with Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre: “It is probably likely that we will not offer (salary arbitration) on either guy. I just think, number one, I don’t know that we want to put ourselves in a position to be tied up money-wise in either player. I think we want to be able to keep our flexibility as far as who we’ll make a run at. And that will financially tie us up, frankly. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to bring them back. We can still sign them back.”

On progress at third base: “I’m optimistic that we can get something done. How quickly kind of depends on the pace of the agent.”

On if they would sign a Type A free agent who is offered salary arbitration (if they did, the Phillies would forfeit their first-round pick in 2010): “It doesn’t necessarily preclude us from moving forward on a guy. We’re going to be picking late again, and I guess the thought is, depending on the quality of the guy and how he impacts our club now and in the future, that’ll impact the decision we make to move forward on it. It obviously has an impact because our goal is to try to develop young players. And losing draft picks doesn’t help, but if you’re signing a Raul Ibanez or a higher level guy sometimes it’s worth making the move.”

Amaro also said left-hander Jamie Moyer is out of the hospital and back in Florida. But he also said Moyer is expected to have surgery on his left knee operation next month. Amaro said it could impact his start of Spring Training, but not the start of the season.

The Phillies announced tonight that Jamie Moyer had a MRI earlier this week, which showed a small blood collection that could have been infected. Moyer had minor surgery today to wash out the blood collection. Dr. Bill Meyers performed the surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

“Jamie is doing very well,” Phillies physician Michael Ciccotti said in a statement. “The surgery is not likely to impact his rehab schedule and is likely to have minimal impact on his spring training schedule.”

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